Rail Budget flashes green signal for Rae Bareli

The Rail Budget 2013-14 seems to have done more good to Gandhis than the state itself. Sonia Gandhi’s parliamentary constituency of Rae Bareli has got maximum goodies from the railway minister’s kitty.

TNN | Feb 27, 2013, 05.57 AM IST

LUCKNOW: The Rail Budget 2013-14 seems to have done more good to Gandhis than the state itself. Sonia Gandhi's parliamentary constituency of Rae Bareli has got maximum goodies from the railway minister's kitty. From a new rail factory to new trains and railway projects, the star constituency of Congress first family has bagged a significant number of goodies.While the Rail Budget 2012-13 announced commissioning of Rae Bareli Rail Coach Factory, this year's budget announced setting up of a forged wheel factory at UPA chairperson's constituency. The MoU for the factory, to be set up in collaboration with Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited, has already been signed. It will not only generate employment at the place, but also strengthen Congress stakes in Lok Sabha elections.

The long list of Rae Bareli's bounties does not end at a new factory. The rail connectivity to the place has also been more than amply improved. And, it's not the only Congress constituency to have gained. Amethi, Sultanpur, Pratapgarh are other gainers.

The new Kolkata-Agra Express will move via Rae Bareli, Amethi. The six-day-a-week Lucknow-Varanasi Express will also move via Rae Bareli. The newly announced Lucknow-Yashvantpur will pass through Rae Bareli and Pratapgarh. Out of dozen pairs of new trains announced for UP, at least three would run via Rae Bareli. The Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) between Lucknow-Pratapgarh and Lucknow-Sultanpur, both represented by Congress, will ease the daily traffic of passengers and increase connectivity of both these places with the state capital.At Pratapgarh, a workshop to undertake periodic overhauling of railway wagons will be set up. However, how long will it take to assume shape is not known. The last year's budget proposed survey and feasibility study of a new coaching terminal at Mau, but, it has still not taken off. In railway projects meant to create infrastructure and speed up operation of trains, too, Congress constituencies gain. A doubling of Rae Bareli-Amethi has been sanctioned and a new rail line has been sanctioned between Sultanpur and Kadipur.

Among the new railway lines proposed, which will be taken up after needed clearance, is Faizabad-Lalganj which will run via Akbarganj, Maharajganj and Rae Bareli.Apart from being generous to Congress constituencies, the Rail Budget 2013-14 has also given at least six new trains to Lucknow. The rail connectivity to Varanasi has also been improved. In coming days, as the ministry has decided to restore the abandoned rail link between Dudhwa and Chandan Chowki, connectivity to state's only tiger reserve - Dudhwa national park - will be improved. On the contrary, from commercially important cities like Kanpur and busiest railway divisions like Gorakhpur and Allahabad, there have been dissenting voices coming. The Rail Budget does not cater well to the demands of rail passengers, as far as introducing new trains, extending the route of existing trains and increasing frequency of running trains is concerned. What can boost tourism, however, is a new rail line proposed between Kapilvastu-Basti via Bansi.On the front of infrastructure creation and giving employment a boost, railways will set up a Rail Neer bottling plant at Lalitpur. Railways will also take up doubling of railway sections in the state. The metre-gauge section of Lucknow division of NER, Mailani-Bahraich will be surveyed by the ministry this year.

The survey of new rail lines between Azamgarh-Mubarakpur is proposed. To improve connectivity to places of religious importance, Gola Gokarannath, survey of new rail line (Farrukhabad-Gola Gokarannath via Shahjahanpur) is proposed. A new rail line between Bah-Etawah will also be completed this year.Railways also intends to improve the profile of passenger amenities. Lucknow and Varanasi stations are CTS-enabled. The service calls for mechanised cleaning of the stations. With railway minister saying that services will be given a renewed emphasis, more stations in UP might come under CTS.

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